1.
Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle
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He is commonly known as the Duke of Newcastle. A protégé of Sir Robert Walpole, he served him for more than twenty years. He held power with his brother, Prime Minister Henry Pelham until 1754 and he had at this point served as a Secretary of State continuously for thirty years—dominating British foreign policy. After Henrys death the Duke was prime minister six years, in two separate periods, while his first premiership was not particularly notable, Newcastle precipitated the Seven Years War, his weak diplomacy cost him the premiership. After his second term as Prime Minister, he served for a short while in Lord Rockinghams ministry and he was most effective as a deputy to a leader of greater ability, such as Walpole, his brother, or Pitt. Few politicians in British history matched his skills and industry in using patronage to maintain power over long stretches of time and his genius appeared as the chief party manager for the Whigs, 1715-1761. He used his energy and his money to candidates, distribute patronage. He was especially influential in the counties of Sussex, Nottinghamshire, Yorkshire and Lincolnshire and his greatest triumph came in the 1734 election. Outside the electoral realm, his reputation has suffered, many modern historians have depicted him as the epitome of unredeemed mediocrity and as a veritable buffoon in office. He studied at Westminster School and was admitted a fellow-commoner at Clare College, Cambridge in 1710, Pelhams uncle died in 1711, and his father the next year, both leaving their large estates to their nephew and son. When he came of age in 1714, Lord Pelham was one of the greatest landowners in the kingdom, one stipulation of his uncles will was that his nephew add Holles to his name, which he faithfully did, thereafter styling himself as Thomas Pelham-Holles. A long-standing legal dispute over the estate with his Aunt was finally settled in 1714 and he increasingly identified with Whig politics, like his father and uncle – but whereas they had been moderate in their views, he grew increasingly more partisan and militant in his views. This issue dominated British politics during the last few years of Queen Annes reign and he joined the Hannover Club and the Kit Kat Club, both leading centres of Whig thinking and organisation. Newcastle House in London became his premier residence and he also became Lord-Lieutenant of the Counties of Middlesex and Nottingham and a Knight of the Garter. In his new position he was in charge of suppressing Jacobitism in the counties under his control, in Middlesex he arrested and questioned eight hundred people, and then drew up a Voluntary Defence Association to defend the county. During 1715 he became involved in a riot ended with two men being killed, and Newcastle fleeing along rooftops. The succession of George I was secured in late 1715 by the defeat of a Jacobite army at the Battle of Preston, the victory of the Hanoverians over the Jacobites marked the beginning of the Whig Ascendancy which lasted for much of the 18th century. Following their victory, the Whigs split with one forming the government for George I
2.
Palace of Westminster
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The Palace of Westminster is the meeting place of the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Commonly known as the Houses of Parliament after its occupants, the Palace lies on the bank of the River Thames in the City of Westminster. The palace is owned by the monarch in right of the Crown and for ceremonial purposes, the building is managed by committees appointed by both houses, which report to the Speaker of the House of Commons and the Lord Speaker. The first royal palace was built on the site in the 11th century, part of the New Palaces area of 3.24 hectares was reclaimed from the Thames, which is the setting of its nearly 300-metre long façade, called the River Front. Barry was assisted by Augustus Pugin, an authority on Gothic architecture and style. The Palace is one of the centres of political life in the United Kingdom, Westminster has become a metonym for the UK Parliament, the Palace of Westminster has been a Grade I listed building since 1970 and part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987. The Palace of Westminster site was important during the Middle Ages. Known in medieval times as Thorney Island, the site may have been first-used for a residence by Canute the Great during his reign from 1016 to 1035. St Edward the Confessor, the penultimate Anglo-Saxon monarch of England, Thorney Island and the surrounding area soon became known as Westminster. Neither the buildings used by the Anglo-Saxons nor those used by William I survive, the oldest existing part of the Palace dates from the reign of William Is successor, King William II. The Palace of Westminster was the principal residence in the late Medieval period. The predecessor of Parliament, the Curia Regis, met in Westminster Hall, simon de Montforts parliament, the first to include representatives of the major towns, met at the Palace in 1265. The Model Parliament, the first official Parliament of England, met there in 1295, in 1512, during the early years of the reign of King Henry VIII, fire destroyed the royal residential area of the palace. In 1534, Henry VIII acquired York Place from Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, renaming it the Palace of Whitehall, Henry used it as his principal residence. Although Westminster officially remained a royal palace, it was used by the two Houses of Parliament and by the various law courts. Because it was originally a residence, the Palace included no purpose-built chambers for the two Houses. Important state ceremonies were held in the Painted Chamber which had originally built in the 13th century as the main bedchamber for King Henry III. The House of Commons, which did not have a chamber of its own, the Commons acquired a permanent home at the Palace in St Stephens Chapel, the former chapel of the royal palace, during the reign of Edward VI
3.
British general election, 1754
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Owing to the extensive use of corruption and the Duke of Newcastles personal influence in the pocket boroughs, the government was returned to office with a working majority. The old parties had disappeared almost completely by this stage, anyone with reasonable hopes of achieving office called himself a Whig, a small group of members of parliament still considered themselves Tories, but they were almost totally irrelevant to practical politics and entirely excluded from holding public office. The resulting 11th Parliament of Great Britain was convened on 31 May 1754, see British general election,1796 for details. The constituencies used were the same throughout the existence of the Parliament of Great Britain, the general election was held between 13 April 1754 and 20 May 1754. At this period elections did not take place at the time in every constituency. The returning officer in each county or parliamentary borough fixed the precise date
4.
House of Commons of Great Britain
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The House of Commons of Great Britain was the lower house of the Parliament of Great Britain between 1707 and 1801. In the course of the 18th century, the office of Prime Minister developed, the modern notion that only the support of the House of Commons is necessary for a government to survive, however, was of later development. Similarly, the custom that the Prime Minister is always a Member of the Lower House, rather than the Upper one, the business of the house was controlled by an elected Speaker. The Speakers official role was to debate, make rulings on procedure, announce the results of votes. The Speaker decided who may speak and had the powers to members who break the procedures of the house. The Speaker often also represented the body in person, as the voice of the body in ceremonial, the title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerford in the Parliament of England. By convention, Speakers are normally addressed in Parliament as Mister Speaker, if a man, or Madam Speaker, if a woman. The members of the last House of Commons of England had been elected between 7 May and 6 June 1705, and from 1707 they all continued to sit as members of the new House of Commons. The last general election in Scotland had been held in the autumn of 1702, in Scotland there was also no new election from the burghs, and the places available were filled by co-option from the last Parliament. The constituencies which elected members in England and Wales remained unchanged throughout the existence of the Parliament of Great Britain
5.
Arthur Onslow
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Arthur Onslow PC was an English politician. He set a record for length of service when repeatedly elected to serve as Speaker of the House of Commons, Onslow was born in Kensington, the elder son of Foot Onslow and his wife Susannah née Anlaby. He was educated at The Royal Grammar School, Guildford and Winchester College and matriculated at Wadham College, Oxford in 1708 and he was called to the bar at the Middle Temple in 1713, but had no great practice in law. When George I came to the throne, Onslows uncle Sir Richard Onslow was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer, when Richard left office in 1715, Arthur obtained a place as receiver general of the Post Office. He became Recorder of Guildford in 1719, as his Post Office position was not compatible with a parliamentary seat, he passed it on to his younger brother Richard when he entered Parliament in 1720 for Guildford. On 8 October 1720, Onslow married Anne Bridges, daughter of John Bridges of Thames Ditton, Surrey, and the niece and coheir of Henry Bridges of Imber Court. After his father-in-law died in the mid-1720s, Onslow came into the estate, which had increased through the addition of the holding of Anns sister, Rose. Inheriting estates from his wifes family considerably improved Onslows financial position, Onslow made Imber Court in Thames Ditton his principal seat. Onslow and Anne had two children, George Onslow, 1st Earl of Onslow Anne Onslow In February 1720, Onslow had been returned as Whig Member of Parliament for Guildford at a by-election and he represented that borough until Parliament was dissolved in 1727. During this period, he was known to have declared against a proposal to levy Roman Catholics in 1722, in 1726, he was one of the Commons managers for the trial of Macclesfield for corruption. On 23 January 1728, Onslow was unanimously elected Speaker of the House of Commons and he would be unanimously re-elected Speaker in 1735,1741,1747 and 1754, setting a record for length of service in that office. On 25 July 1728, he was sworn of the Privy Council, the following year, on 13 May 1729, he was made Chancellor and Keeper of the Great Seal to Queen Caroline, who was godmother to his son George in 1731. Onslows speakership was distinguished by his integrity in a corrupt. His great achievement as Speaker was to assert the independence, authority, while he continued to participate in ordinary political activity, speaking and voting in committee, he did not hesitate to oppose Government policy when necessary. Onslow saw his role to be the protection and defense of Parliament in the established by the Glorious Revolution. He insisted on rigidly observing parliamentary forms and procedure, which he viewed as a protection to independent MPs, but his devotion to precedent led him to condemn the reporting of parliamentary debates as breach of privilege. On 20 April 1734, Onslow received the office of Treasurer of the Navy. In 1742, after casting his vote on a political issue
6.
Leader of the House of Commons
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The Leader of the House of Commons is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom who is responsible for arranging government business in the House of Commons. This office does not attract a ministerial salary, and as such it is held jointly with another ministerial position. The Leader is assisted in the Office of the Leader of the House of Commons by the Deputy Leader of the House of Commons, at times the nominal leadership was held by the Prime Minister but the day-to-day work was done by a Deputy. At other times a Deputy was appointed merely to enhance an individual politicians standing within the government, however, since 2010 the Deputy Leader of the House of Commons has been a ministerial role at the level of Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State. The House of Commons devotes approximately three-quarters of its time to Government business, such as introduced by the government. The Leader of the House, with the chief whips, is responsible for organising Government business. The Leader of the House additionally announces the next weeks debate schedule in the Business Statement every Thursday, when there is either no Deputy Prime Minister or First Secretary of State, the Leader of the House may stand in for an absent Prime Minister at Prime Ministers Questions
7.
Thomas Robinson, 1st Baron Grantham
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Thomas Robinson, 1st Baron Grantham, KB PC was a British diplomatist and politician. He was a son of Sir William Robinson, Bt of Newby-on-Swale, Yorkshire. His elder brother was Rear Admiral Sir Tancred Robinson, during 1741 he sought to make peace between the empress Maria Theresa and Frederick the Great, but in vain, and in 1748 he represented his country at the Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle. He was made a Knight Companion of the Bath in 1742, returning to England he sat in parliament for Christchurch from 1749 to 1761. In 1750, he was appointed to the Privy Council, in November 1755 he resigned, and in April 1761 he was created Baron Grantham. He was Master of the Great Wardrobe 1749–1754 and again 1755–1760 and he died in London on 30 September 1770. He married Frances, daughter of Thomas Worsley of Hovingham, on 13 July 1737 and he was succeeded in the peerage by his eldest son, Thomas. The town of Grantham, New Hampshire in the United States of America is named after Robinson
8.
Henry Fox, 1st Baron Holland
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Henry Fox, 1st Baron Holland, PC was a leading British politician of the 18th century. He identified primarily with the Whig faction and he was the father of Charles James Fox. He was the son of Sir Stephen Fox and his second wife the former Christiana Hope. He squandered most of it soon after attaining his majority, there he made the acquaintance of a woman of fortune, who became his patroness and was so generous to him that, after several years’ absence, he was in a position to return home. In 1735 he entered Parliament as Member for Hindon in Wiltshire and he became a protégé and devoted supporter of Sir Robert Walpole, the long-standing Prime Minister, achieving unequalled and unenviable proficiency in the worst political arts of his master and model. He earned particular notice with a speech in parliament calling on Britain to support its European allies and he generally aligned with the government Whigs rather than the Patriot Whig faction that opposed them. Until 1742 this meant the government of Walpole, but afterward and it was the government of Henry Pelham to which he lent his support. A skilled speaker, he was able to hold his own against Pitt himself and this helped him progress in the House of Commons, becoming an indispensable member of several administrations. He served as Surveyor-General of Works from 1737 to 1742, as Member for Windsor from 1741 to 1761 and he had eloped with and married the much younger Lady Caroline Lennox, daughter of the Duke of Richmond, in 1744. She was later created Baroness Holland, of Holland in the County of Lincoln, the noted Whig politicians Charles James Fox and the 3rd Baron Holland were his son and grandson, respectively. Another son was the general Henry Edward Fox and he was known for his tendency to spoil his children, whom he allowed to mingle with the numerous public figures who came to dine at the Fox household. Fox was appointed Secretary at War and member of the Privy Council in 1746 and he had also gained fame on the continent as military commander of Britains forces there. He had built himself a political following in London and, perhaps most importantly to Fox. Fox soon grew to be a favourite of George II as well, by the early 1750s, Fox and Pitt were both viewed as likely future leaders of the country. This pushed their rivalry to yet further lengths, Fox through his office as War Secretary was closer to the top office while Pitt languished in opposition. In 1754, the death of Pelham brought their rivalry to a head. The new Prime Minister, Pelhams brother, the Duke of Newcastle and this job would command immense prestige and influence, and Pitt and Fox were considered the outstanding favourites to attain it. Newcastle, fearing the ambitions of both men, ultimately chose neither and instead selected Sir Thomas Robinson
9.
William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham
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William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham, PC, FRS was a British statesman of the Whig group who led the government of Great Britain twice in the middle of the 18th century. Historians call him Pitt of Chatham, or William Pitt the Elder to distinguish from his son, William Pitt the Younger, Pitt was also known as The Great Commoner, because of his long-standing refusal to accept a title until 1766. Pitt was a member of the British cabinet and its leader from 1756 to 1761. He again led the ministry, holding the title of Lord Privy Seal. Much of his power came from his brilliant oratory, Peters argues his statesmanship was based on a clear, consistent, and distinct appreciation of the value of the Empire. The British parliamentary historian Peter D. G, Thomas argues that Pitts power was based not on his family connections but the extraordinary parliamentary skills by which he dominated the House of Commons. He displayed a commanding manner, brilliant rhetoric, and sharp debating skills that cleverly utilized broad literary and historical knowledge. Pitt was the grandson of Thomas Pitt, the governor of Madras, known as Diamond Pitt for having discovered and this transaction, as well as other trading deals in India, established the Pitt family fortune. He made further purchases and became one of the dominant political figures in the West Country controlling seats such as the rotten borough of Old Sarum. Williams father was Robert Pitt, the eldest son of Governor Pitt and his mother was Harriet Villiers, the daughter of Edward Villiers-FitzGerald and the Irish heiress Katherine FitzGerald. Both Williams paternal uncles Thomas and John were MPs, while his aunt Lucy married the leading Whig politician, William Pitt was born at Golden Square, Westminster, on 15 November 1708. His older brother Thomas Pitt had been born in 1704, there were also five sisters, Harriet, Catherine, Ann, Elizabeth, and Mary. From 1719 William was educated at Eton College along with his brother, William disliked Eton, later claiming that a public school might suit a boy of turbulent disposition but would not do where there was any gentleness. It was at school that Pitt began to suffer from gout, in 1726 Governor Pitt died, and the family estate at Boconnoc passed to Williams father. When he died the year, Boconnoc was inherited by Williams elder brother. In January 1727, William was entered as a commoner at Trinity College. There is evidence that he was a reader, if not a minutely accurate classical scholar. William diligently cultivated the faculty of expression by the practice of translation and re-translation, in these years he became a close friend of George Lyttelton, who would later become a leading politician
10.
Whigs (British political party)
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The Whigs were a political faction and then a political party in the parliaments of England, Scotland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom. Between the 1680s and 1850s, they contested power with their rivals, the Whigs origin lay in constitutional monarchism and opposition to absolute monarchy. The Whigs played a role in the Glorious Revolution of 1688, and were the standing enemies of the Stuart kings and pretenders. The Whigs took full control of the government in 1715, and remained dominant until King George III, coming to the throne in 1760. The Whig Supremacy was enabled by the Hanoverian succession of George I in 1714, the Whigs thoroughly purged the Tories from all major positions in government, the army, the Church of England, the legal profession, and local offices. The Partys hold on power was so strong and durable, historians call the period from roughly 1714 to 1783 the age of the Whig Oligarchy. The first great leader of the Whigs was Robert Walpole, who maintained control of the government through the period 1721–1742, his protégé was Henry Pelham, who led from 1743 to 1754. Both parties were founded on rich politicians, more than on votes, there were elections to the House of Commons. The Whig Party slowly evolved during the 18th century, later on, the Whigs drew support from the emerging industrial interests and wealthy merchants, while the Tories drew support from the landed interests and the royal family. The term Whig was originally short for whiggamor, a term meaning cattle driver used to describe western Scots who came to Leith for corn. In the reign of Charles I the term was used during Wars of the Three Kingdoms to refer derisively to a faction of the Scottish Covenanters who called themselves the Kirk Party. It was then applied to Scottish Presbyterian rebels who were against the Kings Episcopalian order in Scotland, Whig was a term of abuse applied to those who wanted to exclude James on the grounds that he was a Roman Catholic. The fervent Tory Samuel Johnson often joked that the first Whig was the Devil, the Whigs, under Lord Shaftesburys leadership, wished to exclude the Duke of York from the throne due to his Catholicism, his favouring of monarchical absolutism and his connections to France. They believed the Duke, if allowed to inherit the throne, would endanger the Protestant religion, liberty, the first Exclusion Bill was supported by a substantial majority on its second reading in May 1679. In response, King Charles prorogued Parliament and then dissolved it and this new parliament did not meet for thirteen months, because Charles wanted to give passions a chance to die down. When it met in October 1680, an Exclusion Bill was introduced and passed in the Commons without major resistance, Charles dissolved Parliament in January 1681, but the Whigs did not suffer serious losses in the ensuing election. The next Parliament first met in March, at Oxford, but Charles dissolved it only after a few days, when he made an appeal to the country against the Whigs, and determined to rule without Parliament. In February, Charles had made a deal with the French King Louis XIV, without Parliament, the Whigs gradually crumbled, mainly due to the Rye House Plot
11.
House of Lords
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The House of Lords of the United Kingdom, referred to ceremonially as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster, officially, the full name of the house is, The Right Honourable the Lords Spiritual and Temporal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Parliament assembled. Unlike the elected House of Commons, all members of the House of Lords are appointed, the membership of the House of Lords is drawn from the peerage and is made up of Lords Spiritual and Lords Temporal. The Lords Spiritual are 26 bishops in the established Church of England, of the Lords Temporal, the majority are life peers who are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the Prime Minister, or on the advice of the House of Lords Appointments Commission. However, they include some hereditary peers including four dukes. Very few of these are female since most hereditary peerages can only be inherited by men, while the House of Commons has a defined 650-seat membership, the number of members in the House of Lords is not fixed. There are currently 805 sitting Lords, the House of Lords is the only upper house of any bicameral parliament to be larger than its respective lower house. The House of Lords scrutinises bills that have approved by the House of Commons. It regularly reviews and amends Bills from the Commons, while it is unable to prevent Bills passing into law, except in certain limited circumstances, it can delay Bills and force the Commons to reconsider their decisions. In this capacity, the House of Lords acts as a check on the House of Commons that is independent from the electoral process, Bills can be introduced into either the House of Lords or the House of Commons. Members of the Lords may also take on roles as government ministers, the House of Lords has its own support services, separate from the Commons, including the House of Lords Library. The Queens Speech is delivered in the House of Lords during the State Opening of Parliament, the House also has a Church of England role, in that Church Measures must be tabled within the House by the Lords Spiritual. This new parliament was, in effect, the continuation of the Parliament of England with the addition of 45 MPs and 16 Peers to represent Scotland, the Parliament of England developed from the Magnum Concilium, the Great Council that advised the King during medieval times. This royal council came to be composed of ecclesiastics, noblemen, the first English Parliament is often considered to be the Model Parliament, which included archbishops, bishops, abbots, earls, barons, and representatives of the shires and boroughs of it. The power of Parliament grew slowly, fluctuating as the strength of the monarchy grew or declined, for example, during much of the reign of Edward II, the nobility was supreme, the Crown weak, and the shire and borough representatives entirely powerless. In 1569, the authority of Parliament was for the first time recognised not simply by custom or royal charter, further developments occurred during the reign of Edward IIs successor, Edward III. It was during this Kings reign that Parliament clearly separated into two chambers, the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The authority of Parliament continued to grow, and, during the fifteenth century
12.
Robert Henley, 1st Earl of Northington
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Robert Henley, 1st Earl of Northington PC, was the Lord Chancellor of Great Britain. He was a member of the Whig Party in the parliament and was known for his wit, henleys grandfather, Sir Robert Henley, was Master of the Court of the Kings Bench. He was essentially a defence counsel, Henley inherited an estate in the Grange in Hampshire which was built for Sir Robert Henley by Inigo Jones. Henleys father Anthony Henley was educated at Oxford and was interested in literature, when arriving in London, he was the friend of the Earls of Dorset and Sunderland, and friends to Swift, Pope, and Burnet. After becoming a man, Anthony Henley became a chosen member in Andover of the parliament in 1698. He died in August,1711 and was succeeded by his eldest, Anthony, the second, Robert, born the second son of Anthony Henley, Robert Henley was from a wealthy family in Hampshire. He was educated at Westminster School and attended the St. Johns College in Oxford, Robert Henley gained a fellowship at the All Souls College and was called to the bar on 23 June 1732. He was elected a parliament member of Bath, Somerset in 1747 and he was appointed Attorney General in 1756 and was promoted the next year to Lord Keeper of the Great Seal. He was the last person to receive this title, although as Lord Keeper he presided over the House of Lords, he was not made a peer until 1760 when he became Baron Henley of Grange in the County of Southampton in Hampshire. When George III ascended to power, Henley came Lord Chancellor and then Viscount Henley and he resigned from his position in 1767. At his residence in Hampshire, he died on 14 January 1772, in 1743, Henley married Jane Huband who was the daughter of Sir John Huband of Ipsley of Warwickshire. He had three sons and five daughters, the names of his daughters were as followed, Lady Catherine Henley, Lady Bridget Henley, Jane Henley, Lady Elizabeth Henley, Mary Henley. He was succeeded by his son Robert Henley, 2nd Earl of Northington. Vernon v Bethell 28 ER838, necessitous men are not, truly speaking, free men, but, to answer a present exigency, will submit to any terms that the crafty may impose upon them. Shanley v Harvey 2 Eden 126,127, as “soon as a man sets foot on English ground he is free. ”Brown v Peck 1 Eden 140, provisions discouraging cohabitation were void against public policy, as where a will promised £5 a month to a beneficiary to split up from her husband, or £2 otherwise. She was entitled to the £5. The maxim Qui tacet satis loquitur has therefore been respected, and constructive consents have been looked upon as entitled to as much regard as if conveyed in express terms. ”Earl of Buckinghamshire v Drury Pike v Hoare,2 Eden,182, Amb. 428, on conflict of laws, a will affecting lands in the Colonies “is not triable” in this country
13.
Leader of the House of Lords
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The Leader of the House of Lords is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom who is responsible for arranging government business in the House of Lords. The role is held in combination with a formal Cabinet position, usually one of the sinecure offices of Lord President of the Council. Unless the Leader is also a minister, being Leader constitutes the bulk of his or her government responsibilities. The Office of the Leader of the House of Lords is a ministerial department, though the Leader of the House is a member of the cabinet and remains a partisan figure, he or she also has responsibilities to the House as a whole. In contrast to the House of Commons, where proceedings are controlled by the Speaker, proceedings in the Lords are controlled by peers themselves, under the rules set out in the Standing Orders. The Leader is often called upon to advise on procedures and points of order, however, like the Lord Speaker, the Leader of the House has no power to rule on points of order or to intervene during an inappropriate speech. Those functions were transferred to the Lord Speaker, however, it may have been used as early as 1689, applied to George Savile, 1st Marquess of Halifax, when he was Speaker of the House of Lords during the Convention Parliament of that year. The role developed during the first quarter of the century, at the same time as the role of Prime Minister. It was therefore necessary for a member of the government to take responsibility for steering government legislation through each House, the Earl of Sunderland, initiated aspects of the role during the Whig Junta under Queen Anne. Sunderland and the other Whigs were dismissed from office in reaction to their co-ordination of government matters, Sunderland returned to power under George I, as Lord Privy Seal. When the Prime Minister sat in the House of Lords, which was common until the beginning of the twentieth century, when the Prime Minister sat in the Commons, the position of Leader of the Lords was often held by the Foreign Secretary or Colonial Secretary. In some coalition governments, it was held by the party leader who was not Prime Minister, since the end of the Marquess of Salisburys last government, in 1902, the position clearly exists in its own right as a member of the cabinet. The first female Leader of the Lords was Janet Young, Baroness Young in 1981–1983, Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury served as Leader of the House of Lords from 1885 to 1886, from 1886 to 1892 and from 1895 to 1902. His son James Gascoyne-Cecil, 4th Marquess of Salisbury served as Leader from 1925 to 1929 and his grandson, Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 7th Marquess of Salisbury, served as Leader from 1994 to 1997, as Viscount Cranborne, again by means of a writ of acceleration. Douglas Hogg, 1st Viscount Hailsham served as Leader of the House of Lords from 1931 to 1935 and his son Quintin Hogg, 2nd Viscount Hailsham served as Leader from 1960 to 1963. Because the post is a one and not a ministerial office in its own right, it is not always included in official lists of government offices. This can make it difficult to determine who the Leader of the House of Lords was in a particular ministry, House of Lords Leader of the House of Commons Leader of the House of Lords Official site
14.
William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire
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He was the first son of William Cavendish, 3rd Duke of Devonshire and Catherine Hoskins. He was elected MP for Derbyshire in 1741 and 1747, Devonshire was a supporter of Sir Robert Walpole and, after Walpoles fall from power, of the Pelhams. Henry Pelham wrote to Devonshires father that he was our mainstay among the young ones, horace Walpole described him as a favourite by descent of the Old Whigs and as errant bigot to the Pelham faction as ever Jacques Clément was to the Jesuits. He had been offered the post of governor to the Prince of Wales, Devonshire supported the Duke of Newcastle after Henry Pelhams death in 1754 and was Lord Lieutenant of Ireland from 2 April 1755 until 3 January 1757 in Newcastles administration. In April 1755 Devonshire was one of the Lords Justices of the realm upon the Kings absence in Hanover, Devonshire succeeded to the dukedom in December 1755 after his father died. The Seven Years War was going badly for Britain under the leadership of the Duke of Newcastle, Devonshire accepted on the condition that his tenure would last only until the end of the parliamentary session. Devonshire believed his duty to the King required an administration capable of prosecuting the war successfully, Devonshire was given the Garter and appointed First Lord of the Treasury in November 1756, and he served as First Lord until May 1757 in an administration effectively run by William Pitt. Devonshires administration secured increased money for the war, troops were sent to America, the administration was eventually brought down for a variety of reasons including the opposition of George II and the alleged mishandling of the trial and execution of Admiral John Byng. It was replaced by the Second Newcastle Ministry headed by the Duke of Newcastle and including Pitt, Henry Fox and this government steered Britain through most of the Seven Years War leading the country to ultimate victory. Devonshire was Lord Chamberlain in Newcastles government and his relations with him were close, George II died in October 1760 and was succeeded by his grandson George III, who was suspicious of Devonshire and Newcastle. When Newcastle resigned in May 1762 Devonshire said that he would rarely attend Lord Butes Councils, when in October George III requested that he attend a Cabinet meeting on peace terms, Devonshire declined, claiming he had inadequate knowledge of the subject. He was in passing through London to Chatsworth and had come to give his leave to the King. In the opinion of one of his biographers, John Brooke, Devonshire resigned his Lord Lieutenancy of Derbyshire in solidarity with Newcastle and Rockingham when they were dismissed from their Lord Lieutenancies. For a long time he had a constitution and he gradually grew more ill during these years. He ultimately died in the Austrian Netherlands where he had gone to take the waters at Spa and his death was a large political loss to his allies, the Whig magnates such as the Duke of Newcastle. Dying at the age of 44 years and 147 days, he remains the shortest lived British Prime Minister, Devonshire was buried at Derby Cathedral. He married Lady Charlotte Elizabeth Boyle, 6th Baroness Clifford, the daughter and heiress of Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington of the first creation, a famous architect and art collector. Through her, the Devonshires inherited Chiswick House and Burlington House in London, Bolton Abbey and Londesborough Hall in Yorkshire, the Duke employed Capability Brown to landscape the garden and park at Chatsworth House, his main residence
15.
Parliament of Great Britain
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The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in 1707 following the ratification of the Acts of Union by both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. This lasted nearly a century, until the Acts of Union 1800 merged the separate British and Irish Parliaments into a single Parliament of the United Kingdom with effect from 1 January 1801. Following the Treaty of Union in 1706, Acts of Union ratifying the Treaty were passed in both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland, which created a new Kingdom of Great Britain. The Acts dissolved both parliaments, replacing them with a new parliament, referred to as the Parliament of Great Britain and it was not even considered necessary to hold a new general election. While Scots law and Scottish legislation remained separate, new legislation was thereafter to be enacted by the new parliament, after the Hanoverian King George I ascended the British throne in 1714 through the Act of Settlement of 1701, real power continued to shift away from the monarchy. George was a German ruler, spoke poor English, and remained interested in governing his dominions in continental Europe rather than in Britain. Reformers and Radicals sought parliamentary reform, but as the French Revolutionary Wars developed the British government became repressive against dissent and progress towards reform was stalled. During the first half of George IIIs reign, the still had considerable influence over Parliament. Most candidates for the House of Commons were identified as Whigs or Tories, reformers like William Beckford and Radicals beginning with John Wilkes called for reform of the system. In 1780 a draft programme of reform was drawn up by Charles James Fox and Thomas Brand Hollis and this included calls for the six points later adopted by the Chartists. Pitt had previously called for Parliament to begin to reform itself, proposals Pitt made in April 1785 to redistribute seats from the rotten boroughs to London and the counties were defeated in the House of Commons by 248 votes to 174
16.
Kingdom of Great Britain
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The Kingdom of Great Britain, officially Great Britain, was a sovereign state in western Europe from 1 May 1707 to 31 December 1800. It did not include Ireland, which remained a separate realm, the unitary state was governed by a single parliament and government that was based in Westminster. Also after the accession of George I to the throne of Great Britain in 1714, the early years of the unified kingdom were marked by Jacobite risings which ended in defeat for the Stuart cause at Culloden in 1746. On 1 January 1801, the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland were merged to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1922, five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the United Kingdom, the name Britain descends from the Latin name for the island of Great Britain, Britannia or Brittānia, the land of the Britons via the Old French Bretaigne and Middle English Bretayne, Breteyne. The term Great Britain was first used officially in 1474, in the instrument drawing up the proposal for a marriage between Edward IV of Englands daughter Cecily and James III of Scotlands son James. The Treaty of Union and the subsequent Acts of Union state that England and Scotland were to be United into one Kingdom by the Name of Great Britain. However, both the Acts and the Treaty also refer numerous times to the United Kingdom and the longer form, other publications refer to the country as the United Kingdom after 1707 as well. The websites of the UK parliament, the Scottish Parliament, the BBC, additionally, the term United Kingdom was found in informal use during the 18th century to describe the state. The new state created in 1707 included the island of Great Britain, the kingdoms of England and Scotland, both in existence from the 9th century, were separate states until 1707. However, they had come into a union in 1603. Each of the three kingdoms maintained its own parliament and laws and this disposition changed dramatically when the Acts of Union 1707 came into force, with a single unified Crown of Great Britain and a single unified parliament. Ireland remained formally separate, with its own parliament, until the Acts of Union 1800, legislative power was vested in the Parliament of Great Britain, which replaced both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. In practice it was a continuation of the English parliament, sitting at the location in Westminster. Newly created peers in the Peerage of Great Britain were given the right to sit in the Lords. Despite the end of a parliament for Scotland, it retained its own laws. As a result of Poynings Law of 1495, the Parliament of Ireland was subordinate to the Parliament of England, the Act was repealed by the Repeal of Act for Securing Dependence of Ireland Act 1782. The same year, the Irish constitution of 1782 produced a period of legislative freedom, the 18th century saw England, and after 1707 Great Britain, rise to become the worlds dominant colonial power, with France its main rival on the imperial stage
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Tories (British political party)
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The first Tories emerged in 1678 in England, when they opposed the Whig-supported Exclusion Bill which set out to disinherit the heir presumptive James, Duke of York. This party ceased to exist as a political entity in the early 1760s. A few decades later, a new Tory party would rise to establish a hold on government between 1783 and 1830, with William Pitt the Younger followed by Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool. When the Whigs subsequently regained control, the Representation of the People Act 1832 removed the rotten boroughs, in the following general election, the Tory ranks were reduced to 180 MPs. Under the leadership of Robert Peel, the Tamworth Manifesto was issued, however, Peel lost many of his supporters by repealing the Corn Laws, causing the party to break apart. One faction, led by the Earl of Derby and Benjamin Disraeli, survived to become the modern Conservative Party and this action resulted from this parliament not allowing him to levy taxes without yielding to its terms. In the beginning of the Long Parliament, the Kings supporters were few in number, the increasing radicalism of the Parliamentary majority, however, estranged many reformers even in the Parliament itself and drove them to make common cause with the King. By the end of the 1640s, the radical Parliamentary programme had become clear, reduction of the King to a powerless figurehead, and replacement of Anglican episcopacy with a form of Presbyterianism. This prospective form of settlement was prevented by a coup détat which shifted power from Parliament itself to the Parliamentary New Model Army, the Army had King Charles I executed and for the next eleven years the British kingdoms operated under military dictatorship. Charles II also restored episcopacy in the Church of England and these acts did not reflect the Kings personal views and demonstrated the existence of a Royalist ideology beyond mere subservience to the Court. These interests would soon coalesce as the Whigs, as a political term, Tory entered English politics during the Exclusion Bill crisis of 1678–81. The Whigs were those who supported the exclusion of James, the Duke of York from the succession to thrones of Scotland and England & Ireland, and the Tories were those who opposed the Exclusion Bill. The Whigs tried to link the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, the Duke of Ormonde, with the foremost Irish Tory, Redmond OHanlon, in a supposed plot to murder Titus Oates. The Whig Bishop of Meath, Henry Jones, offered OHanlon a pardon and a bribe if he would testify to Parliament that Ormonde was plotting a French invasion. In December 1680, the government seized these letters and the plan collapsed. they call me names, Jesuit, Papish, Tory. I hear further since that this is the distinction they make instead of Cavalier and Roundhead, now they are called Torys, the rebellion of Monmouth, the candidate of the radical Whigs to succeed Charles II, was easily crushed and Monmouth himself executed. In the long run, however, Tory principles were to be severely compromised, James II, however, during his reign fought for a broadly tolerant religious settlement under which his co-religionists could prosper—a position anathema to conservative Anglicans. James attempts to use the church to promote policies that undermined the churchs own unique status in the state
18.
George II of Great Britain
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George II was King of Great Britain and Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire from 11 June 1727 until his death. George was the last British monarch born outside Great Britain, he was born, after the deaths of Sophia and Anne, Queen of Great Britain, in 1714, his father George I, Elector of Hanover, inherited the British throne. In the first years of his fathers reign as king, George was associated with opposition politicians, as king from 1727, George exercised little control over British domestic policy, which was largely controlled by the Parliament of Great Britain. As elector, he spent twelve summers in Hanover, where he had direct control over government policy. He had a relationship with his eldest son, Frederick. During the War of the Austrian Succession, George participated at the Battle of Dettingen in 1743, Frederick died unexpectedly in 1751, nine years before his father, and so George II was ultimately succeeded by his grandson, George III. For two centuries after George IIs death, history tended to him with disdain, concentrating on his mistresses, short temper. Since then, most scholars have reassessed his legacy and conclude that he held and exercised influence in foreign policy and military appointments. George was born in the city of Hanover in Germany, and was the son of George Louis, Hereditary Prince of Brunswick-Lüneburg, both of Georges parents committed adultery, and in 1694 their marriage was dissolved on the pretext that Sophia had abandoned her husband. She was confined to Ahlden House and denied access to her two children, George and his sister Sophia Dorothea of Hanover, who never saw their mother again. George spoke only French, the language of diplomacy and the court, until the age of four, after which he was taught German by one of his tutors, Johann Hilmar Holstein. In addition to French and German, he was schooled in English and Italian. Georges second cousin once removed, Queen Anne, ascended the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland in 1702, consequently, after his grandmother and father, George was third in line to succeed Anne in two of her three realms. England and Scotland united in 1707 to form the Kingdom of Great Britain, Georges father did not want his son to enter into a loveless arranged marriage as he had, and wanted him to have the opportunity of meeting his bride before any formal arrangements were made. Negotiations from 1702 for the hand of Princess Hedvig Sophia of Sweden, Dowager Duchess and regent of Holstein-Gottorp, the English envoy to Hanover, Edmund Poley, reported that George was so taken by the good character he had of her that he would not think of anybody else. A marriage contract was concluded by the end of July, on 22 August /2 September 1705O. S. /N. S. Caroline arrived in Hanover for her wedding, which was held the evening in the chapel at Herrenhausen. George was keen to participate in the war against France in Flanders, in early 1707, Georges hopes were fulfilled when Caroline gave birth to a son, Frederick
19.
Seven Years' War
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The Seven Years War was a war fought between 1754 and 1763, the main conflict occurring in the seven-year period from 1756 to 1763. It involved every European great power of the time except the Ottoman Empire and spanned five continents, affecting Europe, the Americas, West Africa, India, and the Philippines. The conflict split Europe into two coalitions, led by the Kingdom of Great Britain on one side and the Kingdom of France on the other. Meanwhile, in India, the Mughal Empire, with the support of the French, faced with this sudden turn of events, Britain aligned herself with Prussia, in a series of political manoeuvres known as the Diplomatic Revolution. Conflict between Great Britain and France broke out in 1754–1756 when the British attacked disputed French positions in North America, meanwhile, rising power Prussia was struggling with Austria for dominance within and outside the Holy Roman Empire in central Europe. In 1756, the major powers switched partners, realizing that war was imminent, Prussia preemptively struck Saxony and quickly overran it. The result caused uproar across Europe, because of Austrias alliance with France to recapture Silesia, which had been lost in a previous war, Prussia formed an alliance with Britain. Reluctantly, by following the diet, most of the states of the empire joined Austrias cause. The Anglo-Prussian alliance was joined by smaller German states, Sweden, seeking to re-gain Pomerania joined the coalition, seeing its chance when virtually all of Europe opposed Prussia. Spain, bound by the Pacte de Famille, intervened on behalf of France, the Russian Empire was originally aligned with Austria, fearing Prussias ambition on the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, but switched sides upon the succession of Tsar Peter III in 1762. Naples, Sicily, and Savoy, although sided with the Franco-Spanish alliance, like Sweden, Russia concluded a separate peace with Prussia. The war ended with the Treaty of Paris between France, Spain and Great Britain and the Treaty of Hubertusburg between Saxony, Austria and Prussia, in 1763. The Native American tribes were excluded from the settlement, a subsequent conflict, Prussia emerged as a new European great power. Although Austria failed to retrieve the territory of Silesia from Prussia its military prowess was noted by the other powers. The involvement of Portugal, Spain and Sweden did not return them to their status as great powers. France was deprived of many of its colonies and had saddled itself with heavy war debts that its inefficient financial system could barely handle. Spain lost Florida but gained French Louisiana and regained control of its colonies, e. g. Cuba and the Philippines, France and Spain avenged their defeat in 1778 when the American Revolutionary War broke out, with hopes of destroying Britains dominance once and for all. The Seven Years War was perhaps the first true world war, having taken place almost 160 years before World War I and it was characterized in Europe by sieges and the arson of towns as well as open battles with heavy losses
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Cabinet of the United Kingdom
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Ministers of the Crown, and especially Cabinet ministers, are selected primarily from the elected members of House of Commons, and also from the House of Lords, by the Prime Minister. Cabinet ministers are heads of government departments, mostly with the office of Secretary of State for, the collective co-ordinating function of the Cabinet is reinforced by the statutory position that all the Secretaries of State jointly hold the same office, and can exercise the same powers. The Cabinet is the ultimate decision-making body of the executive within the Westminster system of government in constitutional theory. The political and decision-making authority of the cabinet has been reduced over the last several decades. The Cabinet is the committee of Her Majestys Privy Council, a body which has legislative, judicial and executive functions. Its decisions are implemented either under the existing powers of individual government departments. Since the reign of King George I the Cabinet has been the executive group of British government. Both he and George II made use of the system, as both were not native English speakers, unfamiliar with British politics, and thus relied heavily on selected groups of advisers, the term minister came into being since the royal officers ministered to the sovereign. The name and institution have been adopted by most English-speaking countries, and this development grew out of the exigencies of the First World War, where faster and better co-ordinated decisions across Government were seen as a crucial part of the war effort. All these demanded a highly organised and centralised Government centred on the Cabinet, Cabinet ministers, like all ministers, are appointed and may be dismissed by the monarch at pleasure on the advice of the Prime Minister. The allocation and transfer of responsibilities between ministers and departments is generally at the Prime Ministers discretion. The extent to which the Government is collegial varies with political conditions, any change to the composition of the Cabinet involving more than one appointment is customarily referred to as a reshuffle, a routine reshuffle normally occurs every summer. The number in addition to the Prime Minister is currently 21, the Cabinet Secretary does not have a political appointment such as Secretary of State and is not a member of the Cabinet, but is the professional Head of Her Majestys Civil Service. In formal constitutional terms, the Cabinet is a committee of Her Majestys Most Honourable Privy Council, all Cabinet members are made Privy Counsellors shortly after appointment if not already Privy Counsellors, but only selected Privy Counsellors are appointed to the Cabinet or invited to attend. MPs and peers in the Cabinet use the style the Right Honourable The Cabinet has come to be made up almost entirely of members of the House of Commons, the Leader of the House of Lords is a member of the House of Lords. Otherwise it is rare for a peer to sit in the Cabinet, the Lord Chancellor was formerly the presiding officer of the House of Lords, but since 2007 need not be a member of the Lords, and members of the House of Commons have been appointed. The number of ministers who are peers has increased since 1997. Occasionally cabinet members are selected from outside the Houses of Parliament, harold Wilson appointed Frank Cousins and Patrick Gordon Walker to the 1964 cabinet despite their not being MPs at the time
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Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
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The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is the head of Her Majestys Government in the United Kingdom. The prime minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Monarch, to Parliament, to their political party, the office is one of the Great Offices of State. The current prime minister, Theresa May, leader of the Conservative Party, was appointed by the Queen on 13 July 2016. The position of Prime Minister was not created, it evolved slowly and erratically over three hundred years due to acts of Parliament, political developments, and accidents of history. The office is therefore best understood from a historical perspective, the origins of the position are found in constitutional changes that occurred during the Revolutionary Settlement and the resulting shift of political power from the Sovereign to Parliament. The political position of Prime Minister was enhanced by the development of political parties, the introduction of mass communication. By the start of the 20th century the modern premiership had emerged, prior to 1902, the prime minister sometimes came from the House of Lords, provided that his government could form a majority in the Commons. However as the power of the aristocracy waned during the 19th century the convention developed that the Prime Minister should always sit in the lower house. As leader of the House of Commons, the Prime Ministers authority was further enhanced by the Parliament Act of 1911 which marginalised the influence of the House of Lords in the law-making process. The Prime Minister is ex officio also First Lord of the Treasury, certain privileges, such as residency of 10 Downing Street, are accorded to Prime Ministers by virtue of their position as First Lord of the Treasury. As the Head of Her Majestys Government the modern Prime Minister leads the Cabinet, in addition the Prime Minister leads a major political party and generally commands a majority in the House of Commons. As such the incumbent wields both legislative and executive powers, under the British system there is a unity of powers rather than separation. In the House of Commons, the Prime Minister guides the process with the goal of enacting the legislative agenda of their political party. The Prime Minister also acts as the face and voice of Her Majestys Government. The British system of government is based on an uncodified constitution, in 1928, Prime Minister H. H. Asquith described this characteristic of the British constitution in his memoirs, In this country we live. Our constitutional practices do not derive their validity and sanction from any Bill which has received the assent of the King, Lords. They rest on usage, custom, convention, often of slow growth in their early stages, not always uniform, the relationships between the Prime Minister and the Sovereign, Parliament and Cabinet are defined largely by these unwritten conventions of the constitution. Many of the Prime Ministers executive and legislative powers are actually royal prerogatives which are still vested in the Sovereign
22.
George III of the United Kingdom
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He was concurrently Duke and prince-elector of Brunswick-Lüneburg in the Holy Roman Empire until his promotion to King of Hanover on 12 October 1814. He was the third British monarch of the House of Hanover, early in his reign, Great Britain defeated France in the Seven Years War, becoming the dominant European power in North America and India. However, many of Britains American colonies were soon lost in the American War of Independence, further wars against revolutionary and Napoleonic France from 1793 concluded in the defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. In the later part of his life, George III had recurrent, although it has since been suggested that he had the blood disease porphyria, the cause of his illness remains unknown. After a final relapse in 1810, a regency was established, on George IIIs death, the Prince Regent succeeded his father as George IV. Historical analysis of George IIIs life has gone through a kaleidoscope of changing views that have depended heavily on the prejudices of his biographers and the sources available to them. Until it was reassessed in the half of the 20th century, his reputation in the United States was one of a tyrant. George was born in London at Norfolk House and he was the grandson of King George II, and the eldest son of Frederick, Prince of Wales, and Augusta of Saxe-Gotha. As Prince George was born two months prematurely and he was unlikely to survive, he was baptised the same day by Thomas Secker. One month later, he was baptised at Norfolk House. His godparents were the King of Sweden, his uncle the Duke of Saxe-Gotha, George grew into a healthy but reserved and shy child. The family moved to Leicester Square, where George and his younger brother Prince Edward, Duke of York, Family letters show that he could read and write in both English and German, as well as comment on political events of the time, by the age of eight. He was the first British monarch to study science systematically and his religious education was wholly Anglican. At age 10 George took part in a production of Joseph Addisons play Cato and said in the new prologue, What. It may with truth be said, A boy in England born, historian Romney Sedgwick argued that these lines appear to be the source of the only historical phrase with which he is associated. Georges grandfather, King George II, disliked the Prince of Wales, however, in 1751 the Prince of Wales died unexpectedly from a lung injury, and George became heir apparent to the throne. He inherited one of his fathers titles and became the Duke of Edinburgh, now more interested in his grandson, three weeks later the King created George Prince of Wales. Georges mother, now the Dowager Princess of Wales, preferred to keep George at home where she could imbue him with her moral values
23.
British general election, 1761
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This was the first Parliament chosen after the accession to the throne of King George III. It was also the first election after George III had lifted the proscription on the employment of Tories in government. The election was one of the most undemocratic in British history, see British general election,1796 for details. The constituencies used were the same throughout the existence of the Parliament of Great Britain, the general election was held between 25 March 1761 and 5 May 1761. At this period elections did not take place at the time in every constituency. The returning officer in each county or parliamentary borough fixed the precise date, list of Parliaments of Great Britain MPs elected in the British general election,1761 British Electoral Facts 1832-1999, compiled and edited by Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher
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Acts of Parliament in the United Kingdom
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In the United Kingdom, Acts of Parliament are primary legislation passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. These devolved legislatures are able to create legislation regarding all but reserved and excepted matters, however, Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom remain supreme and can overrule the devolved legislatures. By convention, the Parliament of the United Kingdom does not do this without a legislative consent motion, a draft piece of legislation is called a bill, when this is passed by Parliament it becomes an Act and part of statute law. Acts of Parliament are classified as either Public General Acts or Local and Personal Acts, Bills are also classified as public, private, or hybrid. Public General Acts form the largest category of legislation, in principle affecting the general law applying to everyone across the entire United Kingdom. Most Public General Acts proceed through Parliament as a bill, occasionally, however. Private Acts are either local or personal in their effect, applying to a specifically named locality or legal person in a different from all others. Private bills are usually promoted by organisations, like local authorities or private companies, to give themselves powers beyond, or in conflict with, Private bills only change the law as it applies to specific individuals or organisations, rather than the general public. Groups or individuals potentially affected by these changes can petition Parliament against the bill and present their objections to committees of MPs. Other private bills may affect particular companies established by Act of Parliament such as TSB Bank and Transas. Private bills, common in the 19th century, are now rare, as new planning legislation introduced in the 1960s removed the need for many of them, only a few, if any, are passed each year. They are subject to a different procedure from that for public bills, described above, Parliamentary authorities maintain a list of all private bills before parliament. Hybrid bills combine elements of public and private Acts. While they propose to make changes to the law, they also contain provisions applying to specific individuals or bodies. Recent examples include the Crossrail Bill, a bill to build a railway across London from west to east. Once passed, hybrid bills are printed as part of the Public General Acts, Parliamentary authorities maintain a list of all hybrid bills before parliament. It is important not to private bills with private members bills. The only difference from regular public bills is that they are brought forward by a private rather than by the government
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Calendar (New Style) Act 1750
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The Calendar Act 1750 was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain. The year 1752 was thus a short year as well, as well as adopting the Gregorian rule for leap years, Pope Gregorys rules for the date of Easter were also adopted. The algorithm, set out in the Book of Common Prayer as required by the Act, includes calculation of the Golden Number and the Sunday Letter, which were presumed to be already known. The Annexe to the Act includes the definition, Easter-day is always the first Sunday after the Full Moon, and if the Full Moon happens upon a Sunday, Easter-day is the Sunday after. The Annexe subsequently uses the terms Paschal Full Moon and Ecclesiastical Full Moon, Scotland had already partly made the change, the year began on 1 January in 1600. As a result of the Act, Scotland adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1752, some history books say that some people rioted after the calendar change, asking that their eleven days be returned. However this is likely a myth, based on only two primary sources, The World, a satirical journal of Lord Chesterfield, and a painting by William Hogarth. He wrote to his son, Every numerous assembly is a mob, mere sense is never to be talked to a mob, their passions, their sentiments, their senses and their seeming interests alone are to be applied to. Here, he was boasting of his skill in having the Bill passed through the Lords, the mob in question was his fellow peers. When the son of the Earl of Macclesfield stood for Parliament in Oxfordshire as a Whig in 1754, in 1755, William Hogarth produced a painting loosely based on these elections, entitled An Election Entertainment, which shows a placard carrying the slogan Give us our Eleven Days. Thus the calendar riot fiction was born, the election campaign depicted concluded in 1754, after a very lengthy contest between Court Whigs and Jacobite Tories. Every issue between the two factions was brought up, including the question of calendar reform, the Tories attacked the Whigs for every deviation, including their alleged favouritism towards foreign Jews and the Popish calendar. Hogarths placard, part of a satire on the character of the debate, was not an observation of actual crowd behaviour, there were, however, legitimate concerns about tax and other payments under the new calendar. Several theories have proposed for the odd beginning of the British tax year on 6 April. One is that from 1753 until 1799, the tax began on 5 April. After the twelfth skipped Julian leap day in 1800, it was changed to 6 April, however it was not changed when a thirteenth Julian leap day was skipped in 1900, so the tax year in the United Kingdom still begins on 6 April. However Poole thought that quarter days, such as Lady Day on 25 March, thus, although 25 March Old Style marked the beginning of the civil year, the next day,26 March Old Style was until 1752 the beginning of the tax year. After removing eleven days in 1752, this corresponded to 6 April New Style, in Appalachia, some Scots-Irish settlers resisted the changeover mandated by the Calendar Act by continuing to celebrate Christmas on January 6, referring to the day as Old Christmas
26.
William Cobbett
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William Cobbett was an English pamphleteer, farmer, journalist and member of parliament, who was born in Farnham, Surrey. He believed that reforming Parliament and abolishing the rotten boroughs would help to end the poverty of farm labourers and he was also against the Corn Laws, a tax on imported grain. Although he was not a Catholic, he became an advocate of Catholic Emancipation in Britain. Through the seeming contradictions in Cobbetts life, his opposition to authority stayed constant and he wrote many polemics, on subjects from political reform to religion, but is best known for his book from 1830, Rural Rides, which is still in print today. William Cobbett was born in Farnham, Surrey, on 9 March 1763 and he was taught to read and write by his father, and first worked as a farm labourer at Farnham Castle. He also worked briefly as a gardener at Kew in the Kings garden, on 6 May 1783, on an impulse, he took the stagecoach to London and spent eight or nine months as a clerk in the employ of a Mr Holland at Grays Inn. He joined the 54th Regiment of Foot in 1783 and made use of the soldiers copious spare time to educate himself. Between 1785 and 1791 Cobbett was stationed with his regiment in New Brunswick and he sailed from Gravesend to Halifax, Nova Scotia. Cobbett was in Saint John, Fredericton and elsewhere in the province until September 1791, rising through the ranks to become Sergeant Major and he returned to England with his regiment, landing at Portsmouth 3 November 1791, and obtained discharge from the army on 19 December 1791. In Woolwich in February 1792, he married Anne Reid, whom he had met while stationed at Fort Howe in Saint John and he had courted her by Jennys Spring near Fort Howe. Cobbett had developed an animosity towards some corrupt officers, and he gathered evidence on the issue while in New Brunswick and he wrote The Soldiers Friend protesting against the low pay and harsh treatment of enlisted men in the British army. Sensing that he was about to be indicted in retribution he fled to France in March 1792 to avoid imprisonment and he was first at Wilmington, then Philadelphia by the Spring of 1793. Cobbett initially prospered by teaching English to Frenchmen and translating texts from French to English and he became a controversial political writer and pamphleteer, writing from a pro-British stance under the pseudonym Peter Porcupine. Cobbett also campaigned against the eminent physician and abolitionist Dr. Benjamin Rush, whose advocacy of bleeding during the yellow fever epidemic may have caused many deaths. Rush won a lawsuit against Cobbett, who never fully paid the $8,000 judgment. The government of William Pitt the Younger offered Cobbett the editorship of a government newspaper, but he declined, as he preferred to remain independent. His own newspaper The Porcupine, bearing the motto Fear God, Honour the King, first started on 30 October 1800, but it was not a success, and he sold his interest in it in 1801. Less than a later, however, he started his Political Register, a weekly newspaper that appeared almost every week from January 1802 until 1835
27.
Acts of Union 1707
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The Acts of Union were two Acts of Parliament, the Union with Scotland Act 1706 passed by the Parliament of England, and the Union with England Act passed in 1707 by the Parliament of Scotland. They put into effect the terms of the Treaty of Union that had agreed on 22 July 1706. Although described as a Union of Crowns, until 1707 there were in two separate Crowns resting on the same head. The Acts took effect on 1 May 1707, on this date, the Scottish Parliament and the English Parliament united to form the Parliament of Great Britain, based in the Palace of Westminster in London, the home of the English Parliament. Hence, the Acts are referred to as the Union of the Parliaments, on the Union, the historian Simon Schama said What began as a hostile merger, would end in a full partnership in the most powerful going concern in the world. It was one of the most astonishing transformations in European history, the first attempts at Union surrounded the foreseen unification of the Royal lines of Scotland and England. In pursuing the English throne in the 1560s, Mary, Queen of Scots pledged herself to a union between the two kingdoms. England and Scotland were ruled by the king for the first time in 1603 when James VI of Scotland also became the king of England. However they remained two separate states until 1 May 1707, the first attempt to unite the parliaments of England and Scotland was by Marys son, King James VI and I. On his accession to the English throne in 1603 King James announced his intention to unite his two realms so that he would not be guilty of bigamy. James used his prerogative powers to take the style of King of Great Britain and to give an explicitly British character to his court. In the meantime, James declared that Great Britain be viewed as presently united, and as one realm and kingdom, the Scottish and English parliaments established a commission to negotiate a union, formulating an instrument of union between the two countries. However, the idea of union was unpopular, and when James dropped his policy of a speedy union. When the House of Commons attempted to revive the proposal in 1610, the ordinance was ratified by the Second Protectorate Parliament, as an Act of Union, on 26 June 1657. One united Parliament sat in Westminster, with 30 representatives from Scotland and 30 from Ireland joining the members from England. Whilst free trade was brought about amongst the new Commonwealth, the benefits were generally not felt as a result of heavy taxation used to fund Cromwells New Model Army. This republican union was dissolved automatically with the restoration of King Charles II to the thrones of England and Scotland, Scottish members expelled from the Commonwealth Parliament petitioned unsuccessfully for a continuance of the union. An abortive scheme for union occurred in Scotland in 1670, following the Glorious Revolution of 1688, the records of the Parliament of Scotland show much discussion of possible union
28.
Great Britain in the Seven Years' War
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Great Britain was one of the major participants in the Seven Years War which lasted between 1756 and 1763. The war started poorly for Britain, which suffered many deaths from the plague and scurvy, and at the hands of France in North America during 1754–55, and in the loss of Minorca in 1756. The same year Britains major ally Austria switched sides and aligned itself with France, for the next seven years these two nations were ranged against a growing number of enemy powers led by France. In 1759 Britain enjoyed an Annus Mirabilis with success over the French on the continent, in North America, in 1761 Britain also came into conflict with Spain. The following year British forces captured Havana and Manila, the western and eastern capitals of the Spanish Empire, by this time the Pitt-Newcastle ministry had collapsed, Britain was short of credit and the generous peace terms offered by France and its allies were accepted. Through the crown, Britain was allied to the Electorate of Hanover and Kingdom of Ireland and it also directed the military strategy of its various colonies around the world including British America. In India British possessions were administered by the East India Company, by the early 1750s many saw another major war as imminent, and Austria was preparing its forces for an attempt to retake Silesia from Prussia. The British Prime Minister, the Duke of Newcastle, had acceded to the premiership in 1754 following the death of his brother Henry Pelham. Newcastle had thirty years experience as a Secretary of State and was a figure on the diplomatic scene. Despite enjoying a majority in the House of Commons he was extremely cautious and vulnerable to attacks led by men such as William Pitt. Newcastle fervently believed that peace in Europe was possible so long as the Old System, one of the major concerns for the British government of the era was colonial expansion. During the eighteenth century the British colonies in North America had become more populous, the territory most prized by the new settlers was the Ohio Country, which was also claimed by France. As well as having potential, it was considered strategically key. French control of territory would block British expansion westwards and eventually French territory would surround the British colonies. A number of delegations to London urged the government to take more decisive action in the Ohio dispute. The Ohio country located between Britains Thirteen Colonies and Frances New France saw France and Britain clash, in 1753 the French sent an expedition south from Montreal that began constructing forts in the upper reaches of the Ohio River. Washington and some native allies ambushed a company of French scouts at the Battle of Jumonville Glen in late May 1754, in the skirmish the French envoy Joseph Coulon de Villiers de Jumonville was left dead, leading to a diplomatic incident. The French responded in force from Fort Duquesne, and in July Washington was forced to surrender at the Battle of Fort Necessity, despite the conflict between them, the two nations were not yet formally at war
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Jacobitism
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The movement took its name from Jacobus, the Renaissance Latin form of Iacomus, the original Latin form of James. Adherents rebelled against the British government on several occasions between 1688 and 1746, the strongholds of Jacobitism were parts of the Scottish Highlands and the lowland north-east of Scotland, Ireland, and parts of Northern England. Significant support also existed in Wales and South-West England, the Jacobites believed that parliamentary interference with the line of succession to the English and Scottish thrones was illegal. Catholics also hoped the Stuarts would end recusancy, in Scotland, the Jacobite cause became intertwined with the clan system. The emblem of the Jacobites is the White Cockade, White Rose Day is celebrated on 10 June, the anniversary of the birth of the Old Pretender in 1688. From the second half of the 17th century onwards, a time of political, the Commonwealth ended with the Restoration of Charles II. During his reign the Church of England was re-established, and episcopal government was restored in Scotland. The authorities attempted some accommodation with Presbyterian dissidents, introducing official Indulgences in 1669 and 1672 and this was particularly true of the followers of the Reverend Richard Cameron, soon to be known as the Cameronians. The government increasingly resorted to force in its attempts to out the Cameronians. The reigns of the last three Stuart Kings – Charles I, Charles II and James II and VII – were marked by growing Royal resistance to this developing consensual model of government. In part the Kings were inspired by the development of Royal Absolutism in contemporary Europe, exemplified particularly strongly by their neighbour and contemporary, Louis XIV of France. In part, however, the apologists of royal authority based their claims on a just assessment of the powers claimed by England, in 1685, Charles II was succeeded by his Roman Catholic brother, James II and VII. In addition to sharing his familys absolutist views of government, James attempted to introduce religious toleration of Roman Catholics, in Seventeenth-century Europe, being a religious outsider meant being a political and social outsider as well. James tried to encourage the participation in life of Roman Catholics, Protestant Dissenters. Such attempts to broaden his basis of support succeeded in antagonising members of the Anglican establishment, in England and Scotland, James attempted to impose religious toleration, which helped the Catholic minority but alarmed the religious and political establishment. Then in 1688 Jamess second wife had a boy, bringing the prospect of a Catholic dynasty, on 4 November 1688 William arrived at Torbay, England. When he landed the next day, at Brixham, James fled to France, in February 1689, the Glorious Revolution formally changed Englands monarch, but many Catholics, Episcopalians and Tory royalists still supported James as the constitutionally legitimate monarch. Forces of Cameronians as well as Clan Campbell Highlanders led by the Earl of Argyll had come to bolster Williams support, the convention set out its terms and William and Mary were proclaimed at Edinburgh on 11 April 1689, then had their coronation in London in May
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Jacobite risings
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The series of conflicts takes its name Jacobitism, from Jacobus, the Latin form of James. The major Jacobite risings were called the Jacobite rebellions by the ruling governments, the first Jacobite rebellion and second Jacobite rebellion were also known respectively as the Fifteen and the Forty-five, after the years in which they occurred. Although each Jacobite rising had unique features, they were part of a series of military campaigns by Jacobites attempting to restore the Stuart kings to the thrones of Scotland and England. James II was deposed in 1688 and the thrones were claimed by his daughter Mary II jointly with her husband, after the House of Hanover succeeded to the British throne in 1714, the risings continued and intensified. They continued until the last Jacobite rebellion, led by Charles Edward Stuart, was defeated at the Battle of Culloden in 1746. This ended any hope of a Stuart restoration. During the 17th century, the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland suffered political, the Commonwealth ended with the Restoration of Charles II, re-establishment of the Church of England and the imposition of an Episcopalian church government. In 1685, Charles II was succeeded by his Roman Catholic brother, James saw Covenanters as troublemakers and initially tried to end their influence in Scotland. Jamess half-hearted attempts to woo the Presbyterians seemingly did not win him popularity among that section of society either. They remembered his earlier suppression of them and did not believe him to be sincere in his recognition of Presbyterianism. Although these actions were unpopular, at first the majority of his subjects tolerated these acts because James was in his 50s. It seemed that Jamess reign would be short and the throne would soon return to Protestant hands, in 1688, however, Jamess young second wife, Mary of Modena, gave birth to a boy, Prince James, who was promptly baptized a Roman Catholic. Due to English and Scottish succession laws, Prince James immediately supplanted his older sisters as heir to the throne. Now the prospect of a Catholic dynasty on the English, Scottish and Irish thrones seemed all, the Immortal Seven invited Jamess daughter Mary and her husband William of Orange to depose James and jointly rule in his place. On 4 November 1688, William arrived at Torbay, England, after he landed, James fled London, returned and finally left for France on 23 December. In February 1689, the Glorious Revolution formally changed Englands monarch, Scotland was slow to accept William, who summoned a Convention of the Estates which met on 14 March 1689 in Edinburgh. It reviewed a conciliatory letter from William and a haughty one from James, on Jamess side, a modest force of 50 horsemen gathered by John Graham of Claverhouse, Viscount Dundee was in town. Graham attended the convention at the start but withdrew four days later when its support for William became evident, the convention set out its terms and William and Mary were proclaimed monarchs at Edinburgh on 11 April 1689
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War of Jenkins' Ear
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The War of Jenkins Ear was a conflict between Britain and Spain that lasted from 1739 to 1748, with major operations largely ended by 1742. Its unusual name, coined by Thomas Carlyle in 1858, refers to an ear severed from Robert Jenkins, despite stories to that effect, there is no evidence that the severed ear was exhibited before the British Parliament. The seeds of conflict began with the separation of an ear from Jenkins following the boarding of his vessel by Spanish coast guards in 1731, the war resulted in heavy British casualties in North America. After 1742, the war was subsumed by the wider War of the Austrian Succession, peace arrived with the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748. This provided British traders and smugglers potential inroads into the closed markets in Spanish America. But Britain and Spain were often at war during this period, fighting one another in the War of the Quadruple Alliance, the Blockade of Porto Bello and the Anglo-Spanish War. In the Treaty of Seville, following the Anglo-Spanish War, Britain had accorded Spanish warships the right to stop British traders, over time, the Spanish became suspicious that British traders were abusing the contract and began to board ships and confiscate their cargoes. After very strained relations between 1727 and 1732, the situation improved between 1732 and 1737, when Sir Robert Walpole supported Spain during the War of the Polish Succession. But the causes of the problems remained and, when the opposition against Walpole grew, Walpole gave in to the pressure and approved the sending of troops to the West Indies and a squadron to Gibraltar under Admiral Nicholas Haddock, provoking an immediate Spanish reaction. In response, King Philip V of Spain annulled the right and had all British ships in Spanish harbours confiscated. The Convention of Pardo, an attempt to mediate the dispute, on 14 August, Britain recalled its ambassador to Spain and officially declared war on 23 October 1739. Despite the Pacte de Famille, France remained neutral, Walpole was deeply reluctant to declare war and reportedly remarked of the jubilation in Britain they are ringing their bells, soon they will be wringing their hands. After boarding, Fandiño cut off the ear of the Rebeccas captain, Robert Jenkins. Fandiño told Jenkins, Go, and tell your King that I will do the same, in March 1738, Jenkins was ordered to testify before Parliament, presumably to repeat his story before a committee of the House of Commons. According to some accounts, he produced the severed ear as part of his presentation, the incident was considered alongside various other cases of Spanish Depredations upon the British Subjects, and was perceived as an insult to Britains honour and a clear casus belli. The conflict was named by essayist and historian Thomas Carlyle, in 1858, one hundred, Carlyle mentioned the ear in several passages of his History of Friedrich II, most notably in Book XI, chap VI, where he refers specifically to the War of Jenkinss Ear. More than one year later, all diplomatic means having been exhausted, on 20 July, Vice Admiral Edward Vernon and a fleet of warships departed Britain, bound for the West Indies, to attack Spanish ships and possessions. Waterhouse spotted several small vessels in the port of La Guaira and decided to attack, the governor of the Province of Venezuela, Brigadier Don Gabriel de Zuloaga had prepared the port defences, and Spanish troops were well-commanded by Captain Don Francisco Saucedo
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French and Indian War
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The French and Indian War comprised the North American theater of the worldwide Seven Years War of 1754–1763. At the start of the war, the French North American colonies had a population of roughly 60,000 European settlers, the outnumbered French particularly depended on the Indians. Following months of localised conflict, the nations declared war on each other in 1756. The name French and Indian War, used mainly in the United States, British and European historians use the term the Seven Years War, as do English speaking Canadians. French Canadians call it La guerre de la Conquête or the Fourth Intercolonial War, fighting took place primarily along the frontiers between New France and the British colonies, from Virginia in the south to Newfoundland in the north. It began with a dispute over control of the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers, called the Forks of the Ohio, and the site of the French Fort Duquesne. The dispute erupted into violence in the Battle of Jumonville Glen in May 1754, in 1755, six colonial governors in North America met with General Edward Braddock, the newly arrived British Army commander, and planned a four-way attack on the French. None succeeded, and the effort by Braddock proved a disaster, he lost the Battle of the Monongahela on July 9,1755. In 1755, the British captured Fort Beauséjour on the border separating Nova Scotia from Acadia, orders for the deportation were given by William Shirley, Commander-in-Chief, North America, without direction from Great Britain. The Acadians, both captured in arms and those who had sworn the loyalty oath to His Britannic Majesty, were expelled. Native Americans were likewise driven off their land to make way for settlers from New England, after the disastrous 1757 British campaigns, the British government fell. France concentrated its forces against Prussia and its allies in the European theatre of the war, between 1758 and 1760, the British military launched a campaign to capture the Colony of Canada. They succeeded in capturing territory in surrounding colonies and ultimately the city of Quebec, though the British later lost the Battle of Sainte-Foy west of Quebec, the French ceded Canada in accordance with the Treaty of Paris. The outcome was one of the most significant developments in a century of Anglo-French conflict, France ceded its territory east of the Mississippi to Great Britain. It ceded French Louisiana west of the Mississippi River to its ally Spain, in compensation for Spains loss to Britain of Florida. Frances colonial presence north of the Caribbean was reduced to the islands of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, the conflict is known by multiple names. In British America, wars were often named after the sitting British monarch, such as King Williams War or Queen Annes War. As there had already been a King Georges War in the 1740s, British colonists named the war in King Georges reign after their opponents
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Boston Massacre
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The Boston Massacre, known as the Incident on King Street by the British, was an incident on March 5,1770, in which British Army soldiers shot and killed people while under attack by a mob. The incident was publicized by leading Patriots, such as Paul Revere and Samuel Adams. Amid ongoing tense relations between the population and the soldiers, a mob formed around a British sentry, who was subjected to verbal abuse and he was eventually supported by eight additional soldiers, who were subjected to verbal threats and snowballs. Spontaneously they fired into the crowd, instantly killing three demonstrators, two died later. The crowd eventually dispersed after Acting Governor Thomas Hutchinson promised an inquiry, eight soldiers, one officer, and four civilians were arrested and charged with murder. Defended by lawyer and future American president John Adams, six of the soldiers were acquitted, Boston, the capital of the Province of Massachusetts Bay and an important shipping town, was a major center of resistance to unpopular acts of taxation by the British Parliament in the 1760s. In 1768, the Townshend Acts were placed upon the colonists, by which a variety of items that were manufactured in Britain. Colonists objected that the Townshend Acts were a violation of the natural, charter, the Massachusetts House of Representatives began a campaign against the Townshend Acts by sending a petition to King George III asking for the repeal of the Townshend Revenue Act. In Great Britain, Lord Hillsborough, who had recently appointed to the newly created office of Colonial Secretary, was alarmed by the actions of the Massachusetts House. In April 1768 he sent a letter to the governors in America. He also ordered Massachusetts Governor Francis Bernard to direct the Massachusetts House to rescind the letter. Bostons chief customs officer, Charles Paxton, wrote to Hillsborough, commodore Samuel Hood responded by sending the fifty-gun warship HMS Romney, which arrived in Boston Harbor in May 1768. On June 10,1768, customs officials seized Liberty, a sloop owned by leading Boston merchant John Hancock, Bostonians, already angry because the captain of Romney had been impressing local sailors, began to riot. Customs officials fled to Castle William for protection, given the unstable state of affairs in Massachusetts, Hillsborough instructed General Thomas Gage, Commander-in-Chief, North America, to send such Force as You shall think necessary to Boston. On October 1,1768, the first of four British Army regiments began disembarking in Boston, two regiments were removed from Boston in 1769, but the 14th and the 29th Regiments of Foot remained. Tensions rose markedly after Christopher Seider, a lad about eleven Years of Age, was killed by a customs employee on February 22,1770. Seiders death was glorified in the Boston Gazette, and his funeral was described as one of the largest of the time in Boston, the killing and subsequent propaganda inflamed tensions, with gangs of colonists looking for soldiers to harass, and soldiers also on occasion looking for confrontation. On the evening of March 5, Private Hugh White, a British soldier, stood on duty outside the Custom house on King Street
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American Revolutionary War
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From about 1765 the American Revolution had led to increasing philosophical and political differences between Great Britain and its American colonies. The war represented a culmination of these differences in armed conflict between Patriots and the authority which they increasingly resisted. This resistance became particularly widespread in the New England Colonies, especially in the Province of Massachusetts Bay. On December 16,1773, Massachusetts members of the Patriot group Sons of Liberty destroyed a shipment of tea in Boston Harbor in an event that became known as the Boston Tea Party. Named the Coercive Acts by Parliament, these became known as the Intolerable Acts in America. The Massachusetts colonists responded with the Suffolk Resolves, establishing a government that removed control of the province from the Crown outside of Boston. Twelve colonies formed a Continental Congress to coordinate their resistance, and established committees, British attempts to seize the munitions of Massachusetts colonists in April 1775 led to the first open combat between Crown forces and Massachusetts militia, the Battles of Lexington and Concord. Militia forces proceeded to besiege the British forces in Boston, forcing them to evacuate the city in March 1776, the Continental Congress appointed George Washington to take command of the militia. Concurrent to the Boston campaign, an American attempt to invade Quebec, on July 2,1776, the Continental Congress formally voted for independence, issuing its Declaration on July 4. Sir William Howe began a British counterattack, focussing on recapturing New York City, Howe outmaneuvered and defeated Washington, leaving American confidence at a low ebb. Washington captured a Hessian force at Trenton and drove the British out of New Jersey, in 1777 the British sent a new army under John Burgoyne to move south from Canada and to isolate the New England colonies. However, instead of assisting Burgoyne, Howe took his army on a campaign against the revolutionary capital of Philadelphia. Burgoyne outran his supplies, was surrounded and surrendered at Saratoga in October 1777, the British defeat in the Saratoga Campaign had drastic consequences. Giving up on the North, the British decided to salvage their former colonies in the South, British forces under Lieutenant-General Charles Cornwallis seized Georgia and South Carolina, capturing an American army at Charleston, South Carolina. British strategy depended upon an uprising of large numbers of armed Loyalists, in 1779 Spain joined the war as an ally of France under the Pacte de Famille, intending to capture Gibraltar and British colonies in the Caribbean. Britain declared war on the Dutch Republic in December 1780, in 1781, after the British and their allies had suffered two decisive defeats at Kings Mountain and Cowpens, Cornwallis retreated to Virginia, intending on evacuation. A decisive French naval victory in September deprived the British of an escape route, a joint Franco-American army led by Count Rochambeau and Washington, laid siege to the British forces at Yorktown. With no sign of relief and the situation untenable, Cornwallis surrendered in October 1781, Whigs in Britain had long opposed the pro-war Tory majority in Parliament, but the defeat at Yorktown gave the Whigs the upper hand
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Fourth Anglo-Dutch War
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The Fourth Anglo-Dutch War was a conflict between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Dutch Republic. The war, contemporary with the War of American Independence, broke out over British and Dutch disagreements on the legality, in October 1782, a treaty of amity and commerce was concluded as well. Most of the war consisted of a series of British operations against Dutch colonial economic interests, although British, the war ended disastrously for the Dutch and exposed the weakness of the political and economic foundations of the Republic. Near the end of war in 1747 an Orangist revolution restored the stadtholderate with vastly increased powers for the stadtholder. Instead, the Republic remained stubbornly neutral during the Seven Years War which enabled it to neglect both its army and navy. Initially the British considered the Dutch allies in their attempt to out the rebellion in their North American Thirteen Colonies. They attempted to borrow the mercenary Scotch Brigade of the Dutch States Army for use in the Americas, in a manner to the Hessian. More importantly, Dutch merchants, especially those from Amsterdam, became involved in the supply of arms and this trade was mainly conducted via the entrepôt of St. Eustatius, an island colony of the Dutch West India Company in the Caribbean. There American colonial wares, like tobacco and indigo, were imported and re-exported to Europe, for their return cargo the Americans purchased arms, munitions, and naval stores brought to the island by Dutch and French merchants. To add insult to injury, in 1776 the governor of the island, Johannes de Graeff, was the first to salute the Flag of the United States, in 1778 the Dutch refused to be bullied into taking Britains side in the war against France. The British invoked a number of old treaties to have the Republic support them militarily, after the French declared war on Britain, the Amsterdam merchants also became heavily involved in the trade in naval stores with France. The French needed those supplies for their construction, but were prevented from obtaining those themselves. According to the treaty naval stores were not contraband and the Dutch therefore were free to continue their trade with France in these goods, because of the still-important role of the Dutch in the European carrying trade this opened up a large loophole in the British embargo. The British therefore unilaterally declared naval stores to be contraband and enforced their embargo by arresting Dutch ships on the high seas. This led to protests by the affected Dutch merchants, who demanded institution of convoys escorted by the Dutch navy, to protect them against the Royal Navy. According to customary law, such convoys were exempt from the right of Visit. The States General now ordered him to provide the escorts and the first convoy, under command of rear-admiral Lodewijk van Bylandt and this led to the humiliating Affair of Fielding and Bylandt on 31 December 1779, which enraged Dutch public opinion and further undermined the position of the stadtholder. The Dutch hoped to gain the support of the other members of the League to maintain their neutral status
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French Revolutionary Wars
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The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of sweeping military conflicts, lasting from 1792 until 1802, resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted the French First Republic against Britain, Austria and several other monarchies and they are divided in two periods, the War of the First Coalition and the War of the Second Coalition. Initially confined to Europe, the fighting gradually assumed a global dimension as the political ambitions of the Revolution expanded, French success in these conflicts ensured the spread of revolutionary principles over much of Europe. The Revolutionary Wars began from increasing political pressure on King Louis XVI of France to prove his loyalty to the new direction France was taking. In the spring of 1792, France declared war on Prussia and Austria, the victory rejuvenated the French nation and emboldened the National Convention to abolish the monarchy. A series of victories by the new French armies abruptly ended with defeat at Neerwinden in the spring of 1793, by 1795, the French had captured the Austrian Netherlands and knocked Spain and Prussia out of the war with the Peace of Basel. A hitherto unknown general called Napoleon Bonaparte began his first campaign in Italy in April 1796, in less than a year, French armies under Napoleon decimated the Habsburg forces and evicted them from the Italian peninsula, winning almost every battle and capturing 150,000 prisoners. With French forces marching towards Vienna, the Austrians sued for peace and agreed to the Treaty of Campo Formio, the War of the Second Coalition began with the French invasion of Egypt, headed by Napoleon, in 1798. The Allies took the opportunity presented by the French strategic effort in the Middle East to regain territories lost from the First Coalition. The war began well for the Allies in Europe, where they pushed the French out of Italy and invaded Switzerland—racking up victories at Magnano, Cassano. However, their efforts largely unraveled with the French victory at Zurich in September 1799, meanwhile, Napoleons forces annihilated a series of Egyptian and Ottoman armies at the battles of the Pyramids, Mount Tabor, and Abukir. These victories and the conquest of Egypt further enhanced Napoleons popularity back in France, however, the Royal Navy had managed to inflict a humiliating defeat on the French fleet at the Battle of the Nile in 1798, further strengthening British control of the Mediterranean. Napoleons arrival from Egypt led to the fall of the Directory in the Coup of 18 Brumaire, Napoleon then reorganized the French army and launched a new assault against the Austrians in Italy during the spring of 1800. This latest effort culminated in a decisive French victory at the Battle of Marengo in June 1800, another crushing French triumph at Hohenlinden in Bavaria forced the Austrians to seek peace for a second time, leading to the Treaty of Lunéville in 1801. With Austria and Russia out of the war, the United Kingdom found itself increasingly isolated and agreed to the Treaty of Amiens with Napoleons government in 1802, concluding the Revolutionary Wars. The lingering tensions proved too difficult to contain, however, in 1789–1792, the entire governmental structure of France was transformed to fall into line with the Revolutionary principles of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity. As a result, one of the first major elements of the French state to be restructured was the army, the transformation of the army was best seen in the officer corps. Before the revolution 90% had been nobility, compared to only 3% in 1794, Revolutionary fervour was high, and was closely monitored by the Committee of Public Safety, which assigned Representatives on Mission to keep watch on generals
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